A Blue-Eyed Little Girl
by AllisonZorEl
Summary: An AU in which Kara and Kal-El travelled to Earth in the same pod, and that pod spent thirty-four years in the Phantom Zone. By the time they arrive, Alex is already grown up, but that doesn't stop her and Kara from becoming close. Alex, Eliza, Jeremiah and Maggie must figure out what to do with this little girl from another planet who dropped out of the sky. Some mild language.
1. Prologue

Deep in the woods outside Midvale, well into the witching hour of the night, all was not as it should have been. The woods, usually uninhabited besides squirrels and deer, had a visitor. The Kryptonian pod still steamed as it settled into the ground, a trail of splintered trees in its wake. Its inhabitants, unaware of what was happening, continued to slumber peacefully- for a few more minutes, anyway. The pod began its bio scans, scanning the atmosphere, the biosphere, nearby life forms, and the vitals of its inhabitants. After confirming what needed to be confirmed, the recorded voice of Alura Zor-El spoke, though both the real Alura Zor-El and the language had been dead for over thirty years.

"Location: Earth. Mission completed. Hibernation deactivated."

Inside the pod, Kara Zor-El held her baby cousin, still clutching him to her chest, though both of them floated in water. In order to sustain their hypersleep, the pod had flooded itself after about a year in the Phantom Zone, filtering water out of the space around it. Her eyes remained closed, and she leaned her head back contentedly, not breathing, as her body was supported by the pods bio-monitors. For thirty-three years, three weeks and four days, they had been her only company, the monitors and the small body of her baby cousin. Kara Zor-El had lived a beautiful, privileged childhood, until the day she was dragged from her bed in the middle of the night, had her life's mission screamed at her as she was pulled from the streets, dodging debris, hugged both her parents goodbye, and was launched into space forever. Her baby cousin, the sole reason she'd been saved, had fallen asleep within the first hour, tears streaming down his dirty face, and the hypersleep had taken him.

But Kara Zor-El had not fallen asleep, refused to allow herself to drift off, refused to allow her and her baby cousin to aimlessly drift through space, with nothing to protect them. She'd felt the shockwave, she knew they'd been knocked off course, knew how to read the coordinates she'd been given. She did not, however, know how to steer the ship back on course, or even what her course was supposed to be. So she sat still, holding her baby cousin and looking out onto miles of pitch black space, for three days. For three days she got progressively hungrier, progressively thirstier, progressively more exhausted, for her pod could not support her if she was not in hypersleep.

On the third day, after gingerly placing Kal-El, her cousin, on the console, she began pounding on the glass, screaming, sobs racking her small body as she attempted to break out of her prison. She was, of course, unsuccessful. After decades, she finally stopped, hugging her baby cousin to her chest as she collapsed in exhaustion, finally closing her eyes. She did not open them again for thirty-four years, simply drifted.

Now, however, the glass surrounding the pod broke. The locks holding it on separated. Water poured out of the pod, quickly soaked up by the ground beneath it. The squirrels and deer seemed to stop to watch as the young woman in the pod shivered, then took her first breath for more than three decades, and gave a cough as the dry, pine-scented air filled her lungs.

Kara Zor-El's beautiful blue eyes sprung open.

 **Hey, thanks for reading! What did you think? Should I continue? I plan to update biweekly, on Wednesdays and Fridays- though I may be switching to Mondays and Fridays, I'll let you know after the next chapter. Thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 1

Kal-El was crying. A lot. Kara held him to her chest, trying to quiet him, but the infant wanted his mother, wanted to be back in his bed on Krypton. His young guardian wanted those things, too. She looked around. She'd learned a small bit about Earth, in school, but it had been a long time ago, and the lesson hadn't been particularly in depth- after all, there was _absolutely no chance_ any of them would ever step foot there, her professor, Kir-Ah, had said. It was an isolated planet- it did not believe in any other life forms besides its own inhabitants. It was also primitive, its technology was less advanced then Kara's bathrobe. Kara had found that amusing, but still not worthwhile enough to listen to the lecture. After all, there was _absolutely no chance_ she would ever step foot there.

Despite her limited knowledge of Earth, Kara was sure she was on the right planet. The pod wouldn't have opened, otherwise. And she spoke English, as well as several other Earth languages. In total, she spoke over nine hundred languages, but fewer than twenty of them would be of any use to her here. She'd learned most of them on Krypton, but the pod had downloaded Earthly lingual information while she slept. That was all it had done, though; there hadn't been time to program it to teach her anything else. Kara didn't know where she was, but she did know she couldn't stay there. Anyone or anything could see the pod, and Kara didn't need an intricate knowledge of Earth to know that an isolated planet would not take kindly to two aliens. Singing quietly to Kal-El, she grabbed a small box from under the seat in the pod, dumping its contents into a bag. She knew what it contained: a bit of food and water, some communication crystals from home (useless on this primitive planet without the proper network, of course), the Book of Rao, a knife made of a black star alloy, a baby sling, and some warm clothing. Shouldering her bag and slinging Kal-El, she began walking. She was surprised to find the bag and Kal-El not heavy at all. As she walked, she realized Kal-El had somehow fallen asleep again.

Before long, the tall, green sticks began to become fewer and farther between. Kara saw lights in the distance, the lights of a large structure. She realized it was a dwelling, a house- she'd seen a picture of something like this on Krypton. She walked up to the house's fence, wishing she could see inside.

Suddenly, she felt her eyes burn. Before she knew what was happening, she was seeing through the house's walls! Suppressing a scream, she jumped backwards. Kal-El stirred, but did not wake. Kara thanked Rao. What had just happened? Her mother had told her she would have extraordinary powers on this planet- was this one of them? Before she could contemplate it further, however, a piece of wood swung outwards from the structure, and two figures emerged. Kara gasped- they looked Kryptonian!

"Who's out here?" the male called. Kara was surprised to realize that she understood those words. She clutched Kal tighter to her, willing herself not to make a sound.

"Jeremiah", the female said, a warning time to her voice. The male was undeterred, however. Kara reached into the bag at her side, finding the knife's handle. She pulled it out. She heard the approaching footsteps of the two figures. Her breathing grew heavier.

 _Please don't look behind the fence_ , she thought, _Please don't look behind the fence. Please don't look behind the fence..._

They looked behind the fence.

The girl began to cry. She was unsure of what else to do. Taking a tentative step backwards, she wielded the knife. She'd been trained slightly in combat, enough to know how to stab someone, even if that someone was a fully grown adult. The two figures- _human_ s, Kara remembered, _Earth beings were called humans_ \- stiffened.

"Look, we don't want any trouble", the man began, moving towards the girl. She clutched her knife tighter.

"Stay back", she said, saying her first words in English, "Don't come any closer!"

"Sweetheart", the woman said, "we don't want to hurt you. Really, we don't. We came out to investigate because we heard a crash. I'm Eliza Danvers. This is Jeremiah. Please, just relax for a second."

Kara looked at the woman. She had light eyes and light hair, like she herself did. None of the women in her family had had light eyes and light hair before her, making her something of a rarity. This woman seemed to be genuine. Slowly, cautiously, Kara lowered her knife.

"Kara Zor-El", she said, pointing at herself. She gestured to her baby cousin. "Kal-El. We... we are lost."

"Well, Kara Zor-El... if you are lost, do you and Kal-El need a place to stay?"

The man, Jeremiah, began motioning to Eliza, signaling that he thought this was a horrible idea. But Eliza Danvers was a kind woman, and was not about to leave two children to die of hypothermia, no matter how strange the circumstances were, even if one of them was wielding a knife.

"Yes", Kara said, making up her mind. She wasn't sure why, but she trusted this Eliza woman. It wasn't like she had many choices, anyway. "Yes, we do need a place to stay for the night."

"Well, then, Kara Zor-El, we would be _happy_ to have you", said Eliza, despite the man's clear indication to her that they would not be happy to have her. He interjected.

"If you'll put that knife down", he said. He didn't say it unkindly, just apprehensively, which was understandable. Considering her options, Kara sunk to the ground, keeping eye contact with Jeremiah the entire time. She laid the knife down, then stood back up, never breaking the eye contact.

"Come on", Eliza said, "it's late. You and that baby should both be in bed. I'm afraid we don't have a baby crib, we got rid of our daughter's ages ago, but we can prop the baby up on some pillows. You're welcome to sleep in our daughter Alex's old room- she's all grown up, now."

As they entered the house, Kara looked around, taking it in. Eliza watched, puzzled, as the child looked around as if she had never seen a house before.

"Here", Eliza said, "Why don't you hand the baby... Kal-El?"

Kara nodded.

"Okay, why don't you hand Kal-El to Jeremiah, and he'll set up a bed for him..."

"Kal-El stays with me", said Kara forcefully. Eliza didn't protest, simply turned to Jeremiah and gave him a meaningful look. Understanding, Jeremiah left. Eliza turned back to Kara.

"No problem, sweetheart. Would you like help setting up a bed for him?"

"No, I'm sure I can manage. Is this your daughter's room?"

"Yes", Eliza said, unsure of what else to say, "The bathroom... the bathroom is across the hall, and some of her old pajamas are still in the top drawer. Do... do you need anything else?"

"No, this is more than enough", Kara said, suddenly exhausted despite all her time in hypersleep, "I think I'll just go to bed now." Taking the hint, Eliza closed the door.

Kara looked at the bed. While it wasn't like a bed on Krypton, it was blue and had strange fluffy things on top of it, she still gently placed Kal-El on it, right in the middle. She lay down next to it, positioning herself so that if he rolled off, she'd cushion his fall. Then, before she even had time to realize what was going on, Kara Zor-El was asleep again.

Eliza was worried.

She'd suspected, from the first time she'd seen the child, that something wasn't right. The strange clothes? The hair that went past her waist? Her strange name? The baby? There were so many questions, and not enough answers. Eliza had begun to suspect some sort of cult. Possibilities raced through her mind, each more horrible than the last. Did that baby belong to Kara? If not, who was its mother? Who was Kara's mother? How had Kara ended up barefoot in their yard, carrying a baby and a knife and bag? Suddenly curious, Eliza practically ran to Jeremiah's lab. She knew he had the bag, and the knife- he'd picked it up off the ground.

His back was to her when she walked in, and he was hunched over a microscope. His face was grim. He looked up at Eliza, a _what have we gotten ourselves into_ kind of look on his face. Eliza apprehensively nodded at him to continue, unsure if she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"This is the lightest knife I've ever held. It's also sharp enough to cut all the way to bone with the lightest touch to the blade- which, by the way, I learned the hard way. Naturally, I was curious, so I examined it. Eliza, I don't know what this thing is or how that kid got it, but whatever metal it's made of, it's not on the Periodic Table."

Eliza gasped. "It's... what?"

"Whatever material this is made of would hover at around 320 on the Periodic Table, though it may be an alloy- if it is, I've never seen any of its components before. Eliza, this is bad. This is really, really bad."

Before Eliza could respond, however, she heard a knock on the door. The two looked at each other, both thinking the same thing- there was only one reason they'd have someone knocking on their door at four o'clock in the morning, and it was sleeping in their upstairs bedroom. Eliza cautiously made her way to the door, grabbing Kara's knife on her way out. Jeremiah stood behind her, holding a baseball bat. Taking a deep breath, Eliza swung open the door.

Standing on their porch was their daughter, Alex.

And she was holding a gun.

 **Heyyyyy! Thanks for coming back, or thanks for reading if you're new! So, storytime. I sent this to my cousin across the country to review it, and she somehow managed to accidentally airdrop it to some girl in her physics class! I've literally never been more embarrassed, even though I'll never know these people, and I'm too old for high school drama, damn it! Anyway, thanks again for reading- I've decided to update on Mondays and Fridays. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and drop a review if you're so inclined!**


	3. Chapter 2

Alex Danvers didn't sleep. She hasn't slept, hadn't _really_ slept, in a long time, over two years. Not since she'd been recruited to the DEO, and been told what she had always suspected- they weren't alone. There'd been alien threats- not many, but enough to justify a small, secret government-funded organization to ensure the threats didn't escalate, and to ensure that no one found out. For years, Alex had spent her days covering up UFO sightings and occasionally fighting an alien threat- but there really weren't too many to fight.

Tonight, though, there were. There'd been a crash, a major one. Major enough to warrant the entirety of the DEO being dispatched- and looking at what she saw, she understood why.

From what she'd been told, there'd been a small ship, but she didn't see the small ship. All she saw was the large ship that it had pulled with it- the largest ship she had ever seen. They didn't know much more about it, yet, but they knew that whatever it was, it was bad. Entirely new levels of bad.

Alex began searching for the small ship. As bad as it was finding the huge ship, she knew how dangerous it could be to leave the little ship insecure. Following a path of broken trees, she found a small hunk of metal, crushed up like a tin can, yet still somehow futuristic-looking. Examining the ship, Alex realized it was meant for one passenger... and that that one passenger was gone.

"Henshaw", she said, speaking to her director, "Smaller ship located, abandoned. Passenger appears to have ditched."

"Can you locate it?"

"Possibly."

"Okay. Passenger is now your first priority. Whatever that ship is, it's the reason the larger one is here- finding the passenger is of the utmost importance."

"Yes, Sir", Alex said, cutting off the communication. Looking closer, she noticed faint footsteps. The average person likely wouldn't have noticed them, but Alex had been trained in tracking. Following the footsteps, she quickly found where they led to.

And gasped in horror.

It was her parents' house.

The alien passenger was inside her parents' house.

As soon as her mom opened the door, Alex was yelling. "Mom, has anything unusual happened tonight? Has anyone been in here?"

"Alex, honey, what's going on?"

"I said, Mom, has anyone come into the house?"

Eliza was unnerved, seeing her daughter like this. She'd never seen her daughter with a gun- her daughter worked in a research lab, the same as her. "Why, sweetheart?"

Alex sighed. "Look, Mom, there's a lot you don't understand right now. A lot I don't have time to explain. Right now, I just need to know- has anyone been through here? Any break-ins? Anything?"

"Yes, actually", said Eliza. Alex stiffened. "There was a little girl, and a baby with her."

Alex was confused. Why would a little girl be here? What about the alien passenger? Was it possible the alien passenger had pretended to be a little girl? Alex stepped further inside, and Eliza led her to the kitchen table.

"Tell me more about this little girl."

"Kara! Kara, come on, wake up! Time to go!"

Kara awoke from her bed on Krypton to her mother shaking her awake, pulling her from the bed. She wiped her eyes.

"Mother, what's going on?"

"Just get up, Kara!"

Groggily, Kara pulled herself out of bed. Her cousin's dog, Krypto, jumped on her bed, and through her sleep-deprived haze she realized that that meant her cousin was nearby. "Let me just get dressed", she said to her mother. Suddenly, the room shook.

"No time!" Alura yelled, pulling her out through the hallways. Krypto followed.

"Stay, Krypto!" Alura yelled, throwing open the door to their home. Zor-El, Kara's father, met them there, and both of them pulled her through the streets.

"It's time to leave, Kara", Alura said, attempting to explain. Kara looked at her, eyes wide.

"What do you mean, leave?"

"Krypton is dying, Kara! It's dying and it's going to die soon! Your aunt and uncle are sending their son away. You're going to protect him."

"But what about you? Mother, what about everyone else? Most people don't have a private spacecraft!"

For the first time that night, Alura stopped. She turned to Kara. "They won't feel it. Not for long, anyway. They'll think it's an earthquake for a split second, and then it will be over. Quick and easy."

"Mother, please don't make me..."

"You'll understand when you're older, Kara. Stay here."

They'd reached the launch bay. Kara stood and watched as her parents met with her aunt and uncle, and they began readying a pod. She saw her baby cousin sitting on the ground, and went to pick him up. As she did, she noticed the blanket he was wrapped in- it was made of the finest fabric, resistant to all forms of damage. That was a deliberate decision, Kara realized. It was protection against whatever he- and, by extension, she- might encounter.

"Kara, bring Kal over here, please! Quickly!" her aunt yelled. Kara obediently ran over, standing beside the pod. She turned to her parents.

"We love you, Kara", her mother said, her voice choking with emotion, "but you must go. Someday... someday you will understand. Here, take this. It will keep you safe." Alura took off her necklace, placing it on her daughter's neck. She looked like she wanted to say more, but there wasn't much more to say.

"The journey to Earth is long, over a year, but you'll likely sleep most of the way. Remember..."

Alura was cut off as the room shook. Zor-El and his brother, Kal-El's father, began ushering the girl and the baby to the pod.

"Aren't there two pods?" Jor-El asked, "The pods aren't meant to support two people!"

"We've made some modifications. Hopefully it works. The other pod is malfunctioning too much to take a chance."

"Kara!" Alura yelled, running beside her daughter, "Remember where you came from! Because of Earth's yellow sun, you will have great power there, but never forget who you are! The last daughter of the House of El. My daughter. Kara..."

The room shook again, and Kara felt herself pushed into the Pod. The launch bay began to crumble.

"Go! Now!" yelled Zor-El.

"Father! I'm scared!" Kara screamed, starting to cry. Her father reached in and inputted the commands, jumping out before the pod sealed. It left the launch bay just as it crumbled, both of its passengers screaming as they saw their world crumble.

Alura Zor-El died screaming her daughter's name.

Her daughter didn't stop screaming for hours, and now, years later, lying on a floor in a planet far, far away, she screamed again, screamed in her sleep, thrashing around.

Eliza sat at the table, setting down two mugs of black coffee. Her daughter thanked her, but her urgency and worry was written all over her face.

"Mom", she said, "you need to tell me everything you know about that girl."

Eliza sighed. There was no avoiding this, not anymore. "Frankly, Alex, I don't know much about her. She's strange. Her clothes have a weird symbol on them, a sort of S encased in a diamond. She's soaking wet, and she's got blonde hair that goes down past her waist- closer to her knees then her waist, actually. She came holding a baby and a knife. That knife is like no other knife me or your father have ever seen. It's the lightest knife, light as air, but sharp enough to cut through bone. It's not made of any known metal, it's not on the Periodic Table... Alex, I don't know what's wrong with that girl..."

"She's an alien, Mom."

Eliza stared at her daughter for a moment. Alex hadn't meant to reveal that, but it had seemed only right to tell her mother what she was dealing with. Alex took a deep breath.

"Mom, I don't work in a lab. I did, for a while, but I don't anymore. I'm an agent for a secret organization responsible for identifying and neutralizing alien threats. And that girl, the one you invited to spend the night? She may be the most dangerous threat of all."

Before Eliza could respond, however, they heard a scream from upstairs, a child's scream. The most dangerous threat of all was screaming as if she was being murdered.

Without hesitation, both Alex and Eliza ran upstairs, Alex still holding her gun. Jeremiah met them outside the door. With a pointed glance at her parents, Alex raised her gun. Taking a deep breath, she kicked the door down, prepared to fire on an alien invader.

But there was no alien invader. A baby slept on her old bed, somehow undisturbed by all the noise. Floating above the floor, however, a beautiful little girl in white robes screamed in a dead language, kicking and flailing, seeing things that were not there. Eliza screamed. Just as Alex was about to shoot, the girl gasped, and fell to the ground in a thump. She continued sleeping restlessly, seemingly unperturbed by her fall.

The three Danvers' looks at each other, shock and worry etched on all of their faces.

 **Heyyo! I'm back! So, final editing schedule. Going to update on Mondays and Fridays, and I'll let you know if there's going to be an exception. However, during the week, if I'm feeling really inspired or if you guys request it enough, I'll post a short bonus chapter- a chapter not really necessary to the plot, but one that may be fun to read nonetheless. Thanks for reading, you guys are the best!**

 **p.s. Who's excited for tonight's episode of Supergirl? I know I am! So sad it'll be the last one for a while, though :(**


	4. Bonus Chapter!

Alex walked into her father's lab, her parents trailing close behind her. She'd shouldered her gun, but could still pull it out at a moment's notice. She quickly found what she was looking for. She pulled the bag out from under her father's desk. Its fabric felt weird in her hands. She dumped its contents into the table. Immediately, her eyes were drawn to the strange, rock-looking devices. She touched one, and it glowed feebly before flickering out. She examined it, but was unable to determine its purpose.

She moved onto the other things in the pack. Water in what she presumed was an unnecessarily high-tech bottle, along with something she presumed was dried fruit, though it wasn't any fruit she'd seen before, sat on top of some fabric. Feeling the fabric, it again felt foreign in her hands, and Alex suddenly had an idea. She grabbed a nearby lighter and held it to the fabric. As she'd suspected, the fabric did not catch. She looked up at her parents.

"I don't know where this girl comes from", she said, gesturing to the clothing that she still held a lighter to, "but I certainly wouldn't mind taking a trip there."

 **Hey, gang! First bonus chapter! I know, it's short, but it's supposed to be- it doesn't advance the plot, it was just something fun for me to write. I love writing about the cool Krypton tech- I'm a bit of a science geek. I've written about thirteen real chapters, and it's looking like this is going to be one long story- so brace yourselves! See you guys on Friday for our regularly scheduled, reasonable-length chapter. Also, a friend told me I'd get more activity if I started a "Question of the Day" type thing... so here goes! Question: Karamel (Kara and Mon-El) or Sanvers (Maggie and Alex)? Personally, I prefer Sanvers- though I do love Karamel, Mon-El is my number-one ship for Kara (though, if not him, Lena). But Alex and Maggie are just so perfect for each other- seriously, a couple that kicks alien ass together... stays together. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys on Friday!**


	5. Chapter 3

Kara Zor-El had never before slept in darkness. On Krypton, due to its small size and close proximity to the sun, it had never really gotten dark, only slightly dimmer. Whenever she'd taken an intergalactic overnight trip, it had been aboard a luxury spacecraft that matched Krypton's light. The first time she'd slept in darkness was aboard her pod. She'd woken up to darkness, as well, and then gone right back to sleep in darkness. When she awoke, and saw the sunlight pouring through the windows, she almost cried in delight.

Her delight was short-lived, however, when she turned to the bed to find Kal-El gone. She froze for a second, than tore out of the room, desperately running around the house, searching for Kal-El. It wasn't until she stopped running that she realized she'd been going faster than she'd ever gone- faster than she knew it was possible to run. Was this another one of the extraordinary things her mother had referred to?

Putting aside her confusion, she continued prowling the house, though she forced herself to walk. The house was large, and the furnishings extremely odd- What was the point of some of these things? Why were there so many doors? Why were there doors at all inside a house? Why were there so few windows?

Still contemplating, Kara walked into the kitchen to see Kal-El sitting in some sort of chair. Eliza sat across from him, feeding him some sort of goo. Kara rushed over and picked him up, murmuring to him in Kryptonian. Eliza stood up, surprised to see Kara.

"Kara", she said, "You're up!"

"What were you feeding my cousin?" Kara asked, carefully cradling Kal-El the way she knew he felt most comfortable. Eliza breathed a sigh of relief. The baby was Kara's cousin, not her son. Eliza didn't know how alien worlds could possibly work, and had been worried for the little girl.

"He was crying, and you hadn't woken up yet. I decided to feed him- I had Jeremiah pick up baby food from a nearby store on his way to work. He just left again. What's wrong?"

"How do you know what to feed my cousin?" Kara asked.

"Well, I did have a daughter if my own..."

"But you don't have his nutrition schedule!"

Suddenly, Kara realized that Eliza didn't know what she was talking about. They must not have those on Earth. "Where... where I'm from... each person has a specially plotted nutritional schedule, adapted for their personal needs."

Eliza took a deep breath. She had known she would have to confront the girl eventually. "Kara... about where you're from..."

She wasn't able to finish the sentence. She was interrupted by Alex throwing open the kitchen door, making a beeline for Kara.

"You", she said, pointing, "I need to talk to you. Right now."

"We recovered the small ship", Henshaw said to Alex, briefing her through the phone, "but the large ship was seized by the army. There's a treasure trove of information on board the pod, though- we just don't know how to read it. It's in some sort of alien language."

"I'm sure she can help with that", Alex said, referring to the girl. Henshaw hadn't been crazy about Alex, or anyone for that matter, staying in close proximity to the girl, but Alex had stopped considering her a threat the moment she'd heard her screaming. She didn't know anything about the mysterious girl, but she knew that she was not a perpetrator in this situation- in fact, it was looking like she might be a victim.

"Perhaps she can", Henshaw reluctantly agreed, "It was her ship, after all. Ask her if she'd be willing to talk to us- I can be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Got it", Alex said, "Over and out." Taking a deep breath, she went to conduct her first alien interrogation, as well as her first interrogation of a scared, vulnerable little girl.

"About what would you like to talk?" Kara asked, keeping her voice even and calm, though the way she clutched at the table revealed her true feelings.

Alex was blunt. "Look, Kara, we know who you are. We know where you come from. There's information in the ship that brought you here. We don't understand the language. We need someone who does."

Kara gaped, her mouth slightly open. "I... I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Kara, we found the ship that brought you here. We know you're not human. We don't know much about you..."

"Well, that's because you didn't ask. Thank you for letting me stay the night. I'll be taking my things and leaving now", Kara said, taking a defensive stance.

"Kara, we can't allow you to do that. It's not only dangerous for you, it's dangerous for other people, too. You have to realize..."

"Realize what?" Kara yelled, taking a step closer to the door, "You can't trap us here. I won't let you. Now either let me leave, or..."

"Kara, please, just see reason", Alex said, taking a step towards her. Without thinking, Kara reacted, and lasers shot out of her eyes. Screaming, Alex just managed to dive out of the way. Eliza, screaming, grabbed the fire extinguisher behind her and sprayed it all over the table, which had burst into flames as soon as the heat vision touched it.

After taking a deep breath, both women looked at the little girl. Her blue eyes seemed to be about to bulge out of her head, and her hands shook. After what seemed like an eternity, she made eye contact with Alex.

"I think I may need to stay here a bit longer."

 **Howdy, guys! Hope you guys enjoyed the latest installment of this lil story. I'm so mad there won't be a new Supergirl on Monday, ugh! Anyway, Question of the Day time: Supercorp (Kara and Lena) or Agent Reign (Alex and Sam)? Personally... neither. _Lena and Sam. Lena and Sam all the way. I_ LOVE _LENA AND SAM._ But, if I had to pick, Supercorp. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 4

"Okay, sweetheart. Why don't we just start with the basics, okay? We won't question you about any of the stuff we found in the ship. My boss will be here soon, we can do that then. Can you just tell us your story? Please?" Alex laid her palms flat on the table, her eyes locked on Kara's. Eliza held Kal-El, whom Kara had reluctantly surrendered. Kara glanced in her direction. Eliza gave the slightest encouraging nod. Suddenly, Kara was exhausted again. She was sure of only two things: Kal-El was the only thing that mattered anymore, and... and she trusted these Danvers. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak.

"My name is Kara Zor-El. I'm from a planet called Krypton." Letting her eyes glaze over, the Kryptonian girl told all that she knew, all that she remembered.

Eliza Danvers stared, mouth open. She'd quite possibly just heard the most impossible story that had ever been told, but the proof it had happened sat right in front of her. Suddenly, she felt a strong desire to hug the small girl. Before she could, however, there was a knock on the door. Alex got up, mumbling that it was probably Henshaw.

Sure enough, she was back a minute later, Henshaw lumbering behind her. He scanned the room and, upon seeing Kara, seemed to study her. He seemed almost shocked, but that didn't make any sense- he'd seen plenty of aliens before, some of whom looked much more intimidating than Kara.

"This is our alien?" he asked. Alex nodded. Kara, with a new stroke of boldness, stuck out her hand, something she knew that people in Earth did.

"Kara Zor-El", she said, shaking his hand, "Hello."

Henshaw smiled a half-smile. "Hank Henshaw. Director of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations. We've got some questions for you, Kara Zor-El."

Swallowing, Kara maintained her eye contact with him. "Perhaps I can answer them."

At hearing her name, Henshaw again seemed to stiffen. Kara wasn't sure what to make of that. "I'm sure you can. Why don't we sit down?"

Kara was already sitting, of course, but readjusted her position to a more professional-seeming one. She wasn't sure how this was going to go, but she certainly wasn't going to do it vulnerable.

"Eliza?" Kara asked, her eyes searching Eliza out, "Would you please lay Kal-El down for a nap? He usually takes a nap midway through the day."

Eliza nodded, realizing Kara wanted someone watching over her cousin. Alex stayed and silently watched the exchange between Henshaw and the child, who seemed impressively aware of exactly what was going on.

"Where are you from, Kara Zor-El?" Henshaw switched on a tape recorder, planning to use the interview for later reference. Kara swallowed.

"Krypton. It's about two thousand light years from here."

Henshaw's eyebrows rose. "An impressive journey. Can you tell me more about the technology that brought you here?"

"I can't explain it in Earth terms, you don't have words for it. Our technology is... was... so far ahead of what you have here that I find it hard to believe any of you are still breathing."

Alex laughed at that, but Henshaw only gave his infuriating half-smile. "Our technology isn't too lacking", he said, "After all, it did locate your pod. As well as the large ship that came behind it."

At this, Kara paused. "Large ship?"

Henshaw stared at her. "Yes, the large ship that came behind your pod."

Kara's brow furrowed. "There was no large ship that came behind my pod."

"Oh, yes there was", Henshaw said gravely, "I even have photographs."

He passed the photos to her. Upon seeing them, Kara went deathly pale. Alex put a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you know that ship?" Henshaw asked.

"Fort Rozz", Kara whispered, her voice shaking slightly.

"Excuse me?"

"Fort Rozz", Kara said, louder, "A Kryptonian prison. The worst of the worst from all of the known inhabited galaxies were sent here. My... my mother... was a judge. Anyone on that fort was caught either hurting a lot of people or attempting to."

"And now they've come here", Alex said, a wave of nausea passing over her.

"Yes", Kara said, the last of her color draining from her face.

"How many?" Henshaw asked, somehow still thinking practically.

Kara stared him right in the face. She needed him to understand the significance of this situation. "That ship had ten thousand passengers. Plus guards."

"Ok", Henshaw said, though this was definitely not okay, "Here's What we'll do. We recovered the files off of Fort Rozz before the army seized it, and we still have your pod. We can get information from them both, but it's in Kryptonian. Can you get us a Kryptonian to English alphabet?"

"The Kryptonian and English alphabets are astronomically different, but... I'll try. I can try", Kara said apprehensively.

"Great", Henshaw said, "Until then, let's deal with the biggest elephant in the room." He pointed at Kara. "You."

"Me?" Kara said, her eyes widening, "What about me?"

"You can't stay here", Henshaw said bluntly. Alex started to interject, but Henshaw cut her off. "You know I'm right, Danvers. Her pod practically crashed right in the front yard. And if her mother was he judge who put all those aliens in that prison... let's just say they'd probably be more than happy to get their hands on her. Not to mention the hellstorm that would happen if any human found out her identity. We're lucky, she looks human, which is pretty much a miracle, but we still don't know what she can do."

They both looked at Kara, seemingly expecting a rundown of her biology. Kara was nearly as clueless in that department as them, though. "I really don't know much. I know that because of the yellow sun here, I'll have some extraordinary abilities, but I don't know what they are yet. I'm pretty sure I can see through walls. And I know I can shoot lasers out of my eyes. Nothing else has happened, though."

"You were flying", Alex interjected. Kara's mouth dropped open. "Last night, in your sleep. You were screaming and thrashing around- while flying."

"Well then", Kara said, whispering, "I guess I can fly." She looked down, staring at her hands.

Henshaw nodded. "You see why he can't stay here? She has these amazing abilities that she has no control over. Nothing screams covert like a flying kid. She'll have to stay at the DEO-"

"No", Alex said, cutting him off, "the DEO is no place for a child. She's a refuge, sir, not a threat. You can't keep her locked up."

"Agent Danvers, you have to understand. She's an alien species that we know nothing about. We're going to have to run some tests on her..."

"She can come in for them! Please, sir, she's thirteen years old! She needs a home!"

Henshaw looked at Alex. He'd never seen her this worked up. Sighing, he offered a compromise. "Fine. She can stay with you- with you, Alex, not in this house. It's still too close to the landing site. You live close enough to the DEO that you can bring her in for testing if needed. That's my offer. Take it or leave it."

Alex seemed to be considering. "I don't know, sir... I live with my fiancé, sir, and she doesn't particularly like kids..."

"Agent Danvers, those are the only two options. Surely your fiancé would be willing to compromise for a little while? This doesn't have to be permanent."

Alex stared down at the little girl. She was trying to look like she didn't care, but Alex could tell the thought of living in a research facility, being a test subject, terrified her. "I'll take her", she said firmly, "And you'll leave her alone for at least three months. After that, any testing she undergoes will be done with both her consent and mine."

Again, Henshaw half-smiled. "You drive a hard bargain, Agent Danvers, but I'll accept your terms. Kara, I'll be needing that Kryptonian alphabet as soon as possible. Alex, she can stay here a few more minutes, but then you need to get her out of here. The DEO will work on getting papers for her. I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir", Alex said. Henshaw nodded, and walked out the front door.

Though neither of the women in the kitchen saw it, as he walked out of the house, his eyes glowed red.

 **Heyyyy! Sorry for updating a bit later than usual. I'm so sad there's no new Supergirl tonight! Also, I've been trying to figure out how to add lines across the page into my writing, to divide different sections... if you know how to do that, please let me know. Question of The Day: Do you watch Black Lightning? I recently started watching it, and I LOVE IT! Only other show I've ever watched that comes close to Supergirl in terms of how much I like it. Definitely happy that I can still get new episodes of at least one good show! As always, thanks for reading.**


	7. Chapter 5

The girl stared ahead, her eyes blank. Alex watched her, trying to decide what she was thinking. Annoyed at meeting someone she couldn't read, Alex was blunt.

"What are you staring at?" She asked, a bit harshly.

"I... I'm hungry."

Instantly, Alex regretted her tone. "When did you last eat?"

"Thirty four years ago. Though my pod kept me in hypersuspension."

Again, Alex tried to wrap her head around this. Technically, the little girl she was speaking to was older than her- and she'd just slept for decades. She shook her head, trying to snap out of it.

"We can pick something up in our way out here, okay? Hurry up and get your things, I'll go grab the baby."

Kara nodded solemnly, though Alex's phrasing confused her. What did "pick something up" mean? She didn't question it, though. She didn't have the energy.

Eliza turned to her daughter as soon as she walked in the room. "How did the meeting go?"

"We have to go", Alex said, getting right to the point, "They aren't safe here."

"What do you mean?" Eliza asked, suddenly worried.

"The crash site is too close. She can't stay here, it would draw too much attention."

Eliza tried to argue, but she knew her daughter was right. "Where are they going to stay?"

Alex took a deep breath. "With me. And Maggie, I guess."

Eliza couldn't believe it. "How could you possibly be so naive, Alexandra?"

 _Alexandra?_ God, this was getting serious. "Naive? Explain."

"She's an alien, Alex!", Eliza practically yelled, "An alien with unpredictable abilities! You think you're just gonna keep her in your little apartment in the city, maybe send her to one of the private schools? Think again. And Maggie? Alex, a discussion about kids nearly destroyed your relationship! I thought the two of you agreed you weren't going to be having kids!"

"Yeah, well we didn't exactly plan for a pretty little blondie from another planet, now did we? Maggie is a reasonable person..." Alex started, but Eliza cut her off.

"I used to think you were, too, and look how that turned out. Alex, this can't work. It can't. She needs to be kept out here, be isolated from other people, at least for a little while..."

Alex cut her mother off. "Well, you know what, mom? Maybe you're right. But there's nothing we can do about it. I made a deal with the DEO. Either she lives with me, or she lives in a research facility. Pick one."

Eliza stood, her mouth poised to speak arguments she didn't have. Try as she may, she couldn't refute that. "Fine. Fine, Alexandra. Do whatever you want. You're the expert on children here..."

"I'm the expert on aliens!" Alex countered, raising her voice.

Eliza sat down, suddenly exhausted. "Whatever. Take care of that child, Alex. And if you ever hear her screaming like that again, for God's sake, don't leave her like we did. Wake her up."

Alex nodded. "Goodbye, Mom. Love you." She grabbed Kal-El from where her mother had put him, trying not to wake him up. Hopefully, alien babies liked car rides just as much as human ones.

"Love you too, Alex", said Eliza, as Alex walked out of the room.

Kara was, inexplicably, waiting for Alex outside, with all her things. Perhaps she was learning how Earth worked faster than Alex had thought she would. Because Alex hadn't driven her own car, the DEO had left a car for her to drive. She gestured to it, and, realizing Kara had no idea what to do, opened the door for her. She then showed her how to buckle her seatbelt, and put Kal-El into the car seat the DEO had provided. Remembering her promise, she pulled over at the first fast-food place she saw, a fried chicken restaurant. She usually didn't eat fast food, but she decided that she'd earned an exception, considering the circumstances. For a moment, she sat in the parking lot, staring at the wheel, wondering what to do next.

"So, um... what did you usually... usually eat on... on Krypton?" she asked tentatively, hoping asking about the young girl's home didn't bring back too many memories.

The girl turned white, but gave no other outward sign of internal pain. "Well, it depended. Each person had their own specially tailored nutrition plan, created to keep them physically in their best condition. We grew genetically modified fruits and vegetables, created to have as much nutritional value as possible. I don't really know much else, though- my parents cooked our meals, based on our nutrition plans. My father was... was horrible at cooking... my mother would always tease him about it..." the girl trailed off, sadness coloring her eyes. Alex turned away.

"I'm afraid we don't have that here. Do... are... are you allowed to eat meat?"

"Meat? I never have. We didn't eat animals on Krypton. I don't believe there's anything in the Book of Rao forbidding it, we just had no reason to..."

"Okay", Alex said, turning the car off. "You stay here with your cousin. I'm going to get us some food. Your cousin shouldn't be hungry yet, my mom fed him both breakfast and lunch. I'm going to lock the door, okay? Whatever you do, no matter what happens, do not open this door or get out of this car unless it's me, alright?" Alex spoke slowly and deliberately, making sure the alien understood. Kara nodded.

Still slightly nervous, Alex walked in, hoping for a short line. Unfortunately, the fates weren't done playing with Alex Danvers, so of course the place was right in the middle of its lunch rush. Constantly watching out the window to make sure no one even got close to the car, Alex waited, thanking God when she finally got to the counter. She quickly ordered two basic meals, then walked back to the car as fast as she could. Thankfully, everything seemed fine from the outside.

And then she opened the door.

The entirety of the passenger side front seat was frozen solid. Sitting in the backseat, Kara rocked back and forth, her head in her hands. Kal-El continued sleeping peacefully, unaware of the chaos.

"Kara?" Alex asked tentatively. Kara just shook her head. Alex realized she was muttering in another language, probably Kryptonian. "Kara?" Alex asked a little more forcefully, putting her hand on Kara's shoulder. The girl shook her off, muttering louder now. Finally, Alex grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at her.

"Kara!" she yelled, gripping her shoulders, "What happened?"

Alex took one look at her, her blue eyes wide, before bursting into tears. "I froze it! I was scared because you were gone, and I started breathing heavy, and I froze the seat! Alex, what is happening to me? What is going on?"

"Hey, hey, Kara, Kara, calm down!" Alex said, smoothing her hair, "Its okay. It's going to be okay. Look, I don't know anything about you, or where you're from, or your biology. But you did say that your... your mother told you you'd have extraordinary powers. This must be one of them. Just breathe for a second, okay?"

Kara continued to cry, but her shaking had slowed slightly. "What if I freeze something else?"

"You won't. It's okay. Just breathe, Kara. It's okay." She grabbed Kara's hand.

Gripping Alex's hand, Kara drew one breath, then another. When it became apparent that she wasn't going to freeze anything else, Kara stared at Alex. Alex smiled.

"See? Nothing to be afraid of."

"Thank you", Kara whispered, hoping Alex would understand. She did. Smiling, she got back behind the wheel, and they continued to drive. All went well, the two of them making occasional conversation but mostly just sitting in silence, for about an hour.

And then, on an isolated road, with no scenery but a few abandoned warehouses, Alex realized the brakes didn't work anymore.

She didn't panic. She'd been trained for this sort of thing, after all- though those trainings had admittedly never thrown a little girl and a baby into the mix. Pumping the brake, she did everything she could to pull the car to the side of the road, but the steering wheel wasn't responsive. It occurred to her that her car had been tampered with. She cursed.

"We need to get out of the car!" she yelled to Kara, who stared with wide eyes. That girl certainly stared too much for her own good. "Kara, we're going to crash!"

Somehow, these words seemed to rouse Kara. Alex wondered if they made more sense to her. The girl began fiddling with the door, but didn't know how it worked. In a moment of panic, Kara Zor-El once again found herself punching at a wall from inside a confined space- but this time, the door popped off. Without taking the time to contemplate how she did it, Kara grabbed Alex and threw her out of the car. She turned to Kal-El, determined to find some way to get him out, but she just couldn't figure out the straps on his car seat.

The car was crashing, and it was going to take the two children with it.

"Kara!" Alex screamed, but even as she ran towards the car, she knew she wouldn't make it. She watched as the car drive itself into a brick wall, exploding.

For a second, she simply stood, mouth open, as she stared at the fiery mess. But soon, her horrified expression turned to one of shock as the car lifted. It seemed to hover for a second, and then someone or something threw it a good twenty feet. Standing there, in the flames, was Kara, perfectly fine. She held her cousin who, despite crying, also seemed to be perfectly fine. Kara looked back at her, her eyes wild.

Alex sank to her knees.

 **Hey, happy weekend! How'd you like this chapter? I certainly enjoyed writing it. Next chapter... Maggie! Yes, I kept Sanvers together. What can I say? I'm a romantic. Anyway, happy President's Day to Americans (or, as my seventeen-year-old cousin calls it, "free day off from school day"), happy weekend to everyone else. Question of the Day: Have you seen Black Panther? Do you plan to? What do you think? My Answer: Even though I'm a DC Comics gal through and through, I have to admit that Marvel wins at movies (we win at TV, though!). Black Panther looks incredible, and I plan to see it with a friend tomorrow. I've heard it's just as good as everyone thought it would be, and better. Can't wait!**


	8. Chapter 6

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir", Alex said, hanging up the phone. It died as she did, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. Since she'd been driving a DEO car, she'd had to report this to the DEO, but had left out Kara's apparent invincibility. She wasn't sure why, they'd figure it out the second they tried to get a testing needle through her skin, but it seemed for the best. The girl was dealing with enough without the whole world knowing her secret. So she'd simply told Henshaw that she'd lost control of the car, and that it had been totaled. He'd been a bit skeptical, he'd trained her himself in getaway and emergency driving, but in the end he'd had no choice but to buy it. She turned to the little girl. With just a look, the girl knew what she was asking.

"I don't know", Kara said, keeping a death grip on Kal-El. Alex had noticed she did that whenever she was nervous. "My clothes didn't burn because they're Trombian, and the skin under them didn't burn because they were protected by my clothes. But I should still be dead right now- and so should Kal-El, the car crushed him. And... and the car... Alex, it was so easy to throw it, it was like it was nothing..."

Alex didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. Flying, seeing through walls, freezing things, laser eyes, and now super strength and invulnerability? What was next? What else could this girl do? "We'll deal with this later, ok? Right now, we need to get out of here before it gets dark. There's a bus stop about... about eight miles from here." Alex buried her head in her hands. _She c_ ould probably run that far in around and hour or so, but Kara? And the baby? She sighed. Her cell phone was dead, and it was going to get cold very soon. They didn't have a choice.

"Come on", she said, "We need to walk to the nearest bus stop. Do you know what a bus stop is? Or what a bus is?"

Kara shook her head.

"Oh, well, see, it's... look, just know it's important that we get there. As fast as possible. How fast do you think you can walk with Kal-El?"

Kara looked at her, contemplating. Suddenly, she got a strange look on her face. "Get on my back", she said.

"What?" Alex asked, staring at her. She couldn't be hearing this right.

"Get on my back", Kara repeated, more firmly this time. Realizing Kara wasn't going to yield, Alex decided to humor her.

Kara was able to carry her with ease, of course, as well as Kal-El, and all of hers and Alex's things that had been in the bag from Krypton and therefore survived the car crash- Alex had forgotten about the girl's super strength.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked, apprehensive.

"I'm going to run you to the bus stop", she said, a bit of a glint in her eye. She took a deep breath, preparing to run.

"Wait, Kara, hang on!" Alex yelled, "What the hell are you thinking?"

"I apparently have super strength, meaning I probably won't get tired. Just tell me where to go."

Alex had to admit, once one got past the crazy glint in the little girl's eye, it was a fairly solid plan. She sighed. "Fine. But first, you need to change. You can't wear that in public- it's too unusual, it'll lead to questions."

Kara balked, setting Alex down. "I can't wear my clothes?"

"You've worn them for over three decades", Alex pointed out, pulling a spare pair of shorts and a T-shirt out of the bag, "I'm sure you'll be happy for a change. And they'll be fine, in this bag."

Kara looked like she wanted to argue, but decided against it. Going deathly quiet, she grabbed the clothes offered to her and stalked inside one of the nearby warehouses. A few minutes later, she emerged, and gestured to Alex to get on her back. Handing her the baby, she did just that. Kara took off in a _whoosh._ Alex added super speed to her mental list of the girl's powers.

Alex instructed her to stop running about half a mile from the bus stop, which she tried to do- though she overshot by about a quarter mile.

"Not bad for a rookie", she said, smiling at Kara. Kara didn't smile back. The two completed the rest of their journey to Alex's apartment in silence.

* * *

Maggie stood in front of the stove, making dinner. She'd made dinner for two, hoping Alex would be home in time, but she honestly wasn't sure. It was one of the unfortunate realities of their line of work- sometimes, missions took longer than she should. As Earth's one and only alien homicide detective, Maggie knew that better than anyone.

She paused when she heard someone in the hallway. The footsteps sounded like Alex. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the door swung open, revealing her brunette fiancée. Running to the door, she kissed Alex, ready to hear any stories from her mission she could legally tell. But though she kissed her back, Alex's face was troubled.

"What's wrong, babe?" Maggie asked, "Does dinner smell that bad?"

Alex didn't even smile. "Maggie, there's something I need to tell you."

Maggie's heart began to race. Did Alex have cancer? Was she cheating? Had she decided she didn't love her after all? "What? What is it?"

In response, Alex simply stepped to the side, revealing a pretty blonde little girl wearing clothes too big for her, holding a baby.

Maggie's heart stopped.

 ** _Hiiii! How'd you like it? I know, I know, Maggie only made a short appearance, but she's in pretty much every chapter from here on out, don't worry. Sorry for the tease! Also, lookie, I finally figured out how to add horizontal lines to separate different parts. Next chapter has a lot of relationship drama- no spoilers, but you'll be seeing Maggie's reaction to Alex bringing home a couple of kids. I really hope you guys like this story, I like writing it. A special thanks to the people who read every chapter when it goes up, and the people who review, and just the people who read this in general- it already has over 4,000 views! AHHHHH! Anyway, question of the day time: What's your favorite DCTV show besides Supergirl, or, if Supergirl isn't your favorite, what's your favorite? Mine is probably The Flash, though the others are a close second, and it may change to Black Lightning or Legends of Tomorrow. I suppose that with the Supergirl hiatus (*cries*), I'll have plenty of time to decide which one's my second favorite. Have a nice week, and see you guys on_ Thursday _-_ _Friday is my sister's birthday, so early update. OH! I almost forgot! I have a few announcements. For those of you that don't know, I've started two news fics. The first is called After the Ball, and the basic plot is that Kara and Mon-El are missing and everyone has no idea what happened. It's pretty Karamel centric. The second one is called Prove It, and it's a Reigncorp fic centered around Lena and Sam as they try to prove Kara is Supergirl. If After the Ball or Prove It seem interesting to any of you guys, I'd definitely appreciate it if you'd check them out! That's all for today, sorry for the super long author's note! Thank you, my lovely readers!_**


	9. Chapter 7

"What the hell, Danvers?" Maggie whispered, turning to Alex.

"Just one second, Mags. I'll explain everything, I promise. This is Kara and her cousin, Kal-El. I'll explain it all, really I will. But can we eat first? We've been driving all day. And do we have any yams? Or anything else a baby could eat?"

Maggie's mouth hung open. "God, Danvers, what have you gotten us into?"

Alex gave her a meaningful look, her eyes flickering to Kara, who was nervously hanging on to every word. Maggie dropped her voice. "Fine, Danvers. But after dinner, you better tell me _everything._ "

Alex nodded. "I promise."

Sighing, Maggie gave the girl and the baby one last glance before turning back to the food. It would need a while to finish cooking, Alex knew, so she decided to start setting up Kara and Kal-El. She silently thanked herself and Maggie for deciding to spring for a bigger apartment when they got engaged.

"Come on", she said to Kara, pulling her towards their guest bedroom.

The room was impersonal, with white sheets and white walls, but with lots of windows. Upon seeing it, Kara cried out in delight. Alex turned to her.

"It looks like my room on Krypton!" she said, spinning in a little circle. Alex couldn't help smiling.

"It does? Well, I guess Maggie and I have intergalactic tastes. Feel free to put your things in order, and the bathroom is down the hall if you'd like to take a bath or anything..." Suddenly, Alex stopped. "Shoot, do you know what a bath is? Or... or how to use a hairbrush, or... anything?"

Kara looked on, suddenly embarrassed. "No", she said to the wall.

Alex smiled. "Come on, let's fix that."

* * *

"Alex!" Maggie called, "Your night to set the table!"

"Coming!" Alex called. She'd spent the last hour or so teaching Kara the uses of everyday objects. She wasn't sure why, but the task had been strangely satisfying- like she knew she was doing a good thing. "I'll call you in a minute. Then you can bring Kal-El in, and we'll eat dinner. But be warned, Maggie is about as good of a chef as your father was..."

The girls eyes clouded with pain, and Alex mentally kicked herself. _Stupid!_ But Kara said nothing, only nodded. Alex swore as she left the room- this alien childcare thing was going to take some practice.

She didn't speak to Maggie as she grabbed the plates and set the table, though she could feel her eyes burning into her. Ignoring people was a specialty of Alex Danvers', and she was going to use it to her best advantage. Wordlessly, Maggie put a pan of lasagna down, as well as a small bowl of cooked, mashed and cooled sweet potatoes. Alex was surprised- she didn't actually think Maggie knew how to prepare food for a baby.

"I looked it up online", Maggie said, answering Alex's questioning eyes. Alex didn't respond, simply yelled, "Kara!" Kara was there a second later, carrying Kal-El. Alex gestured to the sweet potatoes, and Kara wordlessly sat Kal-El down and started to feed him.

"Ah, ah, ah", Alex said, "Wash your hands first."

"In... in the... sink?" Kara asked tentatively.

"Yeah", Alex said, looking over at Maggie. Maggie's eyes narrowed slightly, but she gave no other indication that she found this interaction odd. Kara sat down and once again began spooning sweet potatoes into Kal-El's mouth. Alex put lasagna on Kara's plate, and she began to eat her own food as well. All four of them are in painful silence for what seemed like forever, until, finally, Maggie spoke.

"So, where are you from?" Alex almost laughed at the ridiculousness of that question. Such a simple icebreaker, yet so... complicated.

"Midvale", Alex said, tying to signal to Maggie that she'd explain later. Maggie took the hint, and the uncomfortable silence returned.

"Are... are you two... married?" Kara asked, making her own attempt at conversation. At this, both women actually grinned.

"Nah", Maggie said, "Not yet. We would've been married sooner, of course, but Alex took _forever_ to pick a venue..."

Alex interjected. "And Maggie took _forever_ to decide what she wanted to wear..."

They looked at each other, and for the first time, all three started laughing. Even Kara, and she didn't understand in the slightest what this wedding jargon meant. Alex noticed that Kara had finished her food.

"Hey, Kara", Alex said, "Why don't you put Kal-El to bed? You should go to bed yourself, afterwards. You must be exhausted."

"Alright", Kara said, grabbing her cousin. She slipped away to her room. As soon as she heard the door close, Maggie turned straight to Alex.

"She's an alien, isn't she?"

Alex nodded. She wasn't surprised Maggie had worked it out- she was smart like that. "It was the remark about the sink, right?"

"That, and the awkwardness about where she's from. And the name. And the hair. Which I totally covet, by the way."

Alex smiled, but then her grin faded. "Her spaceship crashed last night. Her entire planet exploded- she thinks her cousin and her are the only survivors. She has... abilities..."

Maggie stared. That could mean a lot of things. "What kind of abilities?"

Alex squirmed, but Maggie was not going to let her off the hook. " _What kind of abilities, Alex?_ "

Alex sighed. Maggie had to find out eventually. "Super strength. Super speed. She sees through walls, shoots lasers out of her eyes, and freezes things. She can fly. She can't be burned or cut or crushed. And those are just the ones we've confirmed. We're assuming the baby has the same capabilities."

Maggie just stared for a second, her mouth wide open. "So you're saying that little girl has enough power to take out the entire city if she wants to?"

"Potentially, yes."

"Then why is she here, Alex?"

Alex didn't answer.

"Alex?"

Still, Alex didn't answer.

"Danvers!" Maggie yelled, grabbing Alex's shoulder.

"I heard her screaming, okay?" Alex said, her eyes suddenly haunted, "She was floating in her sleep and screaming. It was... quite possibly the worst sound I've ever heard in my life. I was told I could either find her a place to stay, or she'd have to live at the DEO. In a research facility. Be little more than a lab rat, no matter what they said. I couldn't do that to a little girl. Okay? I'm sorry, Mags, I wish there was another way. But there isn't. This is it."

Maggie simply stared at her. Finally, she rolled her eyes. "Damn it, Danvers, sometimes I wish you didn't have such a big heart."

Alex laughed at that, and before she knew it she was kissing Maggie. They were interrupted, though, by another scream- worse than the previous night's. In an instant, there were both running.

As they threw open the door, they found Kara floating once again, flailing at invisible demons, screaming words they didn't understand, pounding on invisible walls. And, just as before, she fell to the ground with a thud. This time, though, she woke up. She stared at hem, a feral look in her eyes. She looked for only a millisecond, though, before she was running past them, determined to make it to the bathroom.

Alex got there just in time to hold her long hair back as she vomited.

* * *

Henshaw hoped it was going well.

He wasn't stupid, he knew Alex hadn't lost control of the car- someone had tampered with it, probably a Fort Rozz escapee trying to get at Kara. That couldn't happen- he couldn't let it happen. He'd call Alex in the morning, of course, under the guise of making sure the environment was suitable for Kara- as if he'd ever actually make her live at the DEO. He was eternally grateful that Alex had agreed to take her in- though he'd known she would. He'd been watching her, been watching her ever since he'd found out the family in the big house outside of Midvale woods had had a daughter. Reluctant as he was to admit it, he felt protective over her, almost as protective as he did over Kara.

Sighing, he put the incident report away. He'd finish it tomorrow. Again, as he left his office, his eyes flashed red.

 **Heyyyyy! So, Maggie seems reluctantly okay with Kara, and something weird is going on with Hank- no prizes for guessing what! This was a fun chapter to write! Let me know if you enjoyed it. As always, thanks so much for reading, reviewing, following, anything like that- it certainly means the world to me. I actually have two questions for you today, one serious and one fun. Fun first: Has anyone seen Waco? What do you think? I haven't, but I've been considering it, though it'll be weird to see Melissa Benoist as a boring old human. Serious question, what could I do to improve this story? Any critiques on my writing style? I appreciate constructive criticism- but not as much as I appreciate YOU GUYS! Since this was updated early, there may be a bonus chapter, so stay tuned! Oh, and if you haven't, I recommend checking out my other fics, After The Ball and Prove It (which updates tonight!)**


	10. Bonus Chapter 2!

Alex and Maggie lay in bed, neither of them able to sleep. Kara had vomited, then whispered words in a language they still didn't understand before crawling back to her room, kissing her cousin, and curling up in a ball on top of the covers. Alex had wanted to stay with her, but Maggie had said to give her space- so space Alex had given. When she'd last checked up on the girl, she fallen into some sort of uneasy sleep- still occasionally speaking, but _asleep_. She supposed it was the best she could do, for now.

"Mags?" she said, reaching for Maggie's hand.

"Yeah, Danvers?" Maggie replied.

"What do you think she was seeing?"

Maggie pulled Alex towards her, then was quiet for a long time. "I don't think we want to know", she finally responded, "Horrible things. Horrible, terrible things."

Alex shivered, and held Maggie tighter.

* * *

Kara hated the dark. But still, she lay there, shivering, curled up in a ball, pretending to be asleep whenever Alex checked on her, muttering words of protection to Rao. Could Rao hear her there? Could the Sun God hear prayers where the sun didn't shine? Kara didn't know. All she could do was hope.

 **Heyyy! Just a fun (or not) little tidbit for you guys. Hope you enjoyed that! You know I had to put in that Sanvers fluff... Sanvers breakup? What? Pshhhh... no that never happened. I don't know what you're talking about. No question of the day, since this was just a bonus chapter, but feel free to gush about your favorite ship in reviews if you wish. Annnd (insert shameless self-promotion here) if your favorite ship happens to be Karamel or Reigncorp, I recommend checking out my other fics, After The Ball and Prove It. See you guys Monday!**


	11. Chapter 8

When Kara woke up, she nearly panicked. It was too bright- it had to be past first chime! She'd miss Rao's Service, miss breakfast, might even miss school! Swearing in Kryptonian, she jumped off of her bed, and looked down at the clothes she wore.

Earth clothes.

She could have screamed.

Sitting back down, she willed herself not to cry, tried to force herself to breathe, force herself to focus. As she did so, she realized she could hear Alex's breathing, here Maggie's heartrate.

Super hearing. She had super hearing.

Groaning, she pulled herself up, walking over to the mountain of pillows where she'd propped Kal-El up. The tiny boy stared back at her, his eyes bright and awake. She picked him up, hugging him to her chest. Remembering the games he'd liked on Krypton, she held him far from her, then brought him back, then held him far, then brought him back. He giggled harder with each passing round, until he started to cough and Kara put an end to it, laughing maniacally herself. She carried Kal-El into the kitchen, remembering that there'd been leftover... sweet potatoes, they'd been called? She guessed they'd been put in the refrigerator, one of the objects Alex had told her about. Sure enough, there they were. She sat Kal-El on the couch, propping him against pillows, and started feeding him. He'd always been a happy baby, and laughed the whole time about nothing in particular- and his laughter made Kara laugh. When she was done, she picked him up and hugged him. Though she was sorry for everything he'd had to go through, she wasn't sorry he'd been saved, and she wasn't sorry he was with her- and she never could be. She kissed his forehead.

Just as she did, Maggie walked through the bedroom door and said hello to Kara, making her jump terribly. She watched in horror as Kal-El slid out of her arms, plummeting towards the ground...

And stopped.

He simply lay there, floating.

At first, the baby seemed to be considering crying. After all, he had just fallen. But when he saw that he was flying, he started to laugh, and laugh a lot. Snatching him up, Kara breathed a sigh of relief before snatching him up and whisking him back to their room.

Maggie just stood there, stunned.

 _Aliens are so freaking cool,_ she thought.

* * *

Later that day, after Maggie had left for work and Kal-El had gone down for a nap, Alex found Kara sitting at the kitchen table, holding a pencil and staring at paper. Alex had taught her how to use a pencil the day before, and the girl was already good at it.

"What you doing?" Alex asked, sitting down across from her.

"Kryptonian to English alphabet. Several of them, actually. We had multiple languages on Krypton, just as you do on Earth- though not nearly as many, since it was so small. Since those files are scientific, they're most likely written in the common tongue, but they might not be. I'm translating all of them, just in case."

"How many languages do you speak?" Alex asked, suddenly curious.

"Nine hundred and thirty two", Kara said, not looking up. Alex tried to keep from gasping. Was super intelligence considered a super power?

"That's... that's a lot of languages", Alex said stupidly. Kara nodded, then kept working on her alphabet. Alex watched her a moment before making another awkward attempt at conversation. "Did... did you sleep... well?"

Again, a stupid question. Of course she hadn't. She's been throwing up violently halfway through it. Kara looked at her with a slightly annoyed look. _Yes, Alex_ , it said, _stupid question._ Alex sighed. "I'm going to go to the store. Do... do you think you'll be okay here for a few minutes?"

Kara wasn't entirely sure what that meant. Why did Alex need to go to the store? Still, she didn't want to be a bother. She nodded, pretending not to care. Alex smiled a bit sadly at her, letting her know she suspected that she did indeed care, but grabbed her purse and left anyway.

As soon as she'd left, Kara stood up. She'd been hoping for a moment alone. She walked back into her room and, after checking on Kal-El, grabbed her communication crystals.

They were meant to activate at her touch, but they only flickered and went out. She persisted, trying everything she could think of to activate them, but no luck. Finally, she gave up, screaming into her crystals in Kryptonian, but they still would not activate. Without realizing she was doing it, she crushed them to dust in her hand. She sank to the floor, tears streaming down her face.

That was how Alex found her, surrounded by crushed communication crystals, crying into her hands. Wordlessly, she took the little girl into her arms, holding her.

"I don't know what I was doing, Kara whispered, "I... I knew no one would answer... I knew no one would be there..."

"Shh, it's okay", Alex said, holding Kara tightly, "Everything is going to be okay."

And, if even just for a second, Kara believed her.

Alex didn't know how long she held the little girl in her arms, but finally, the girl seemed to have fallen asleep. Scooping her up, she gently laid her on the bed, closing the door gently as she left. Before she did, she left a small box on the table near the door, holding a recent purchase.

It was a nightlight.

* * *

The woman stood behind a desk, processing what she had just heard. "An entire ship? Full of alien hostiles?"

The man, nodded. "Yes, ma'am. As well as a small ship. We don't know what was in that ship, though, the DEO managed to seize it before we did- and as it's technically their official jurisdiction, we can't do much to get it back. There were no passengers on it when we saw it, though."

The woman considered. "Do we know anything at all about the passenger or passengers on that ship?"

"No, ma'am. We suspect the DEO does, but we currently have little to no information. We are fairly certain, however, that the passenger or passengers came into contact at some point or another with a Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers."

Lillian Luthor smiled, a plan forming. "Well then," she said, "Perhaps it's time we pay these Danvers a visit."

 **Hiiiii! Welcome back to old readers, and welcome to new ones! Hope you enjoyed that. A special thanks to a reviewer on yesterday's bonus chapter, who suggested the nightlight idea. How'd you guys like it? I'm a very angsty person, so the angst was definitely fun to write. Anyway, I'll see you guys on Friday- oh, and if you want to read more of my writing, I recommend checking out my other fics, After the Ball and Prove It. Thanks so much for reading/reviewing/being you, and I'll see you guys soon with the next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 9

A month later, Kara and Kal-El had seemingly adjusted well. There'd been less cases of accidental usage of their powers- though Kara still screamed and floated in her sleep, and Kal-El had managed to set the couch on fire more than once. Kara had apologized profusely, offering to carry the couch out of the apartment, but Alex and Maggie had insisted it was fine. They'd also started teaching Kara to cook and do some basic chores, and were considering integrating her into their chore chart. But despite this progress, Alex was worried. She'd landed in the end of June. It was the end of July now. When the DEO had had papers made for her, naming her a ward of the state and Alex and Maggie as her foster parents, they'd also registered her for National City Day School, a nearby private school. The school might be small, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be a witch hunt if Kara lost control of her powers there.

Alex sighed. That was a problem for another day. Right now, Kara was making dinner, her first time making it without help. Alex couldn't help smiling as she adjusted the hot oven racks with no mitts, and reached into a pit of boiling water to retrieve a dropped spoon. Who knew invulnerability would be so useful for cooking?

"You okay?" Alex asked. Kara, concentrating on reading her recipe, nodded.

"I'm going to go check on Kal-El", said Alex. On the official papers, Kal-El's name was listed as Clark, but Alex didn't see any reason to start calling him that. They'd cross that bridge when they came to it. Again, Kara nodded. She seemed to have things under control.

When Alex got back, however, she realized how wrong she'd been. The oven was smoking, and Alex could see flames. Kara was desperately trying to put it out with her hands, but it of course wasn't working. As she worried about the oven, the pot she'd been boiling water in boiled over, spilling water everywhere. Kara turned to Alex.

"Help!" she said. Alex grabbed a fire extinguisher.

Maggie opened the door just in time to watch Alex desperately spraying a fire extinguisher while Kara grabbed the pot of boiling water off the floor, throwing it into the sink and slipping in the water it had left on the floor. When the chaos calmed, both Alex and Kara looked at Maggie, sheepish grins in their faces. Maggie couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. Holding her stomach, she managed to choke out, "So, Noonan's?"

Alex smiled.

* * *

Kara had never been out for dinner. Hell, she'd barely even left the apartment- Alex and Maggie had invited her to come with them when they went to the store or picked up takeout, but she had always declined. Now, however, she didn't have a choice. She was hungry. "I'll put on some real clothes", she said, gesturing to her pajamas. Alex had bought her some clothes a few weeks earlier, explaining that people typically wore a wide variety of things on Earth, to express their style. Kara didn't really care about expressing her style, she just grabbed whatever looked easiest to put on. She dressed Kal-El in one of the onesies Alex had bought for him, and walked back into the kitchen.

"Do I look alright?" she asked.

Maggie smiled. "You look beautiful." The four of them left, walking over to Noonan's. It was a low-key cafe, the kind of place Maggie and Alex went to all the time. Kara had tasted their food when they brought home takeout, but had never actually seen the cafe- or the city surrounding it, for that matter. She couldn't decide where to look, drinking in every sight. Argo City, on Krypton, had been almost like this, but not quite. Everything on Krypton had been so orderly, so... organized. This was chaotic. This...

This was free.

As Kara ate her pasta, slowly feeding Kal-El cut up grapes, she watched out the window, wondering about the people in the city. There were so many of them, and everyone of them was different. She wondered what their stories were, what had brought them there. Alex and Maggie watched the way she watched the city, sharing meaningful glances. All three of them were happy, and all anyone looking in from the outside would have seen was a seemingly happy family.

And then Alex's phone rang.

As soon as she picked it up, the voice of Eliza Danvers was in her ear. "Alex", she said, her voice straining, "Someone is here. We don't know who, but they want Kara. They want her, Alex, they asked about her, and we told them to leave and that we didn't know what they were talking about, and it looked like they left, but they didn't, they're waiting outside the house. They want Kara, Alex..." suddenly, Eliza screamed.

"Mom?" Alex asked, panicking, "Mom, what happened?" There was silence for a moment, and then a voice she hadn't heard before, a low, female voice, began speaking in a threatening tone.

"I know you have the girl, Alex", the voice said, "And if you ever want to see your parents alive again, you'll bring her here by tomorrow morning."

 **Hi, all. I know it's been a while since I've updated, and there's a reason for that. Without getting into details, I've been sick. Very sick, both physically and mentally. I'm sorry I abandoned you guys and I'm even more sorry to say that I can't commit to a regular editing schedule at this time, as I'm still not totally out of the woods, but I will do my best to update as often as possible, Two chapters tonight, as a kind of "I'm sorry" for all that time off. I'll also be updating After The Ball and Prove It, if you follow those. I can no longer promise that all of my writing will be as canon as possible, as I haven't had time to catch up on the show and was only recently discharged. Again, sorry, and thanks for sticking with me for all this time- you guys are the best!**


	13. Chapter 10

Kara stared at Alex, her eyes wide. Alex remembered the super hearing. "You heard that, didn't you?"

"Come on", Kara said, "If we leave now, we'll get there in time!"

"Woah, woah, woah", Maggie said, "What the hell is going on?"

Alex looked at her, trying to decide how best to explain. "Maggie... Maggie, there are people who... who want Kara. And... they're holding my parents hostage. They've demanded we bring her to them by tomorrow morning."

Maggie gasped. "We can't give her to them."

"We can't let them hurt Eliza and Jeremiah!" Kara said insistently. "Look, they don't know about Kal-El. We can leave him here. We have to go to Eliza and Jeremiah's house and see what these people want."

Alex knew she was right. She looked to Maggie, making a quick decision. "You stay home with Kal-El. Kara and I will go to my parents' house."

"Alex", Maggie said, but Alex cut her off.

"Kara's right, Maggie, this is the only way. Someone has to stay with Kal-El. Please, Maggie, just sit this one out. And if anyone tries to get into our apartment, shoot to kill, they've probably figured out where we live by now.

Maggie sighed. "Be careful."

Alex nodded. "I always am."

Throwing some dollar bills down on the table, they left the restaurant.

* * *

Alex and Kara walked to the nearest clearing, right outside the city. Alex had already decided not to drive- the last time she'd driven, she'd almost died, and she wasn't about to make that mistake again. The fastest way there was to run.

"Come on, we need to go."

Kara turned to her, her eyes worried. "I don't think I can."

"What do you mean you can't?" Alex said, a bit of panic creeping into her voice. What was that woman doing to her parents?

"I... the last time I did it, I had adrenaline in me from the car crash. I... I don't know if I can make it happen now. I can't control it."

Alex groaned inwardly. She'd never been great at pep talks, but it looked like a pep talk was necessary, and there was no one else to give it. "Look, Kara", she said, kneeling down in front if the girl, "I know you're scared. I... I'm scared too. But we can't avoid this forever. I am so sorry for what happened to you, and if I could, I'd make it all go away. But I can't. You have endured so much, and lost so much, and now you have to endure this. You, Kara Zor-El, are a living miracle, did you know that? You can do anything in the entire world, Kara. You can do this, too."

It wasn't her best pep talk, but it seemed to get through to Kara. "Get on my back", she said in a low voice. Alex did so, and within a second she was racing through the desert outside National City faster than the speed of sound. Within minutes, they'd arrived in the woods outside of the Danvers home. Alex realized it was where Kara's pod and Fort Rozz had crashed. Alien or not, Kara was a child, and children liked the familiar. Alex climbed off her back, and the two began walking. Before long, they'd reached the Danvers house. Alex turned to Kara.

"Look here, Kara", she said, staring intently, "No matter what happens in there, know that everything I said is true. You are the strongest, bravest, most incredible girl I've ever met. Now come on, we need to go."

"What... what are we going to do?"

"We're going to walk right through the front door."

Not giving it another second, Alex started running. Kara followed, easily outrunning her. As soon as she reached the door, Alex kicked it in, her gun drawn. But the house appeared deserted.

She looked around, Kara close behind her, keeping her gun ready. After throughly searching the entire house, she was ready to give up. Her parents aren't there, and neither were the people who'd taken them. She was just about to turn around when Kara screamed "Watch out!"

Turning around, Alex was just able to catch a glimpse of her attackers before she was thrown into a wall. Alex wasn't an elite agent for a paramilitary force for nothing, though, and soon enough was engaged in a full-on fight, dodging and punching. Kara simply watched, unsure of what to do. There were three people on Alex, but it seemed Alex was handling them. She threw the man who'd thrown her into a wall into a table, knocking him out. She kicked the second man in the head, and was just about to shoot the third when Kara felt someone grab her from behind, felt a knife at her throat, a kitchen knife from the Danvers' own kitchen.

"It's so wonderful that you could come, Ms. Danvers", Lillian Luthor said, stroking Kara's hair, "Now put that gun down. Or I'll kill her."

"Where are my parents?"

"Right here", Lillian said, revealing the Danvers behind a concealed wall. Alex cursed herself for not noticing that before. Both of them were gagged, but Alex could tell from Eliza's expression that she would be screaming at Lillian if she could. Jeremiah watched intently, worry evident in his eyes.

"Now", Lillian said, slowly, contemplating, "no need for anyone to get hurt. My name is Lillian Luthor. I'm the leader of an organization known as Cadmus. And we need the alien- Kara, you said it was called? We need Kara. You can either give it to us, or we'll take it by force."

"Don't think you want to do that", Alex said, noticing the way Kara's fists clenched.

"And why ever not?" Lillian asked, naively still smiling. Suddenly, Kara burst out of her grip, taking to the sky in an explosion of power. She came down hard at Lillian, pinning her to the wall.

"That's why", Alex said, laughing. "Now get the hell out of here and never come back, or we'll make sure you never come back. And take your injured men with you. I suggest teaching them how to fight better."

Kara let Lillian go. Not seeing any other options, Lillian signaled to her men to follow Alex's orders. She certainly hadn't planned for the small female having super powers. She'd seen aliens with superpowers before, but none who could fly, and none with the kind of strength the girl had exhibited- she'd pinned her to the wall with almost miraculous ease. Alex and Kara stood by and watched her leave. As soon as they were sure she was gone, Alex rushed over to untie her parents. The knots were tight, though, and no kind she'd ever seen before.

"Let me", Kara said, walking over and easily snapping the ropes and zip ties. As soon as she could speak, Eliza was yelling.

"I'll kill her!" she yelled, "Threatening a child! A confused, vulnerable child! That... that bitch!"

Alex tried to discreetly nod her head towards Kara. "Children present, Mom."

Eliza nodded. "Right."

Jeremiah turned to her. "Do you know who they were?"

Alex shook her head. "They called me while we were out for dinner and told me that if we didn't bring Kara to them, they'd kill you. She said she led an organization... Cadmus?"

Kara nodded. "That's what she called it."

Alex stood, thinking. "Well, as much as I want to kill them, I don't think these people pose any real danger to Kara. They clearly didn't anticipate the kind of powers she has. I say we have the DEO watch this house and my apartment for a while, but we don't really need to take any greater precautions."

Jeremiah nodded. "Sounds like a solid plan. Well, actually, sounds like a stupid plan, but I know you aren't going to compromise."

"You two should stay here tonight", Eliza said, "It's too late for you to make it home by dark. Go get ready for bed, I'll put your car in the garage."

"We didn't take a car", Alex said. Eliza raised her eyebrows.

"Then how did you get here so fast? Actually, how did you get here so fast at all?"

Alex's eyes flicked to Kara, and Eliza gasped. Alex had the decency to look ashamed.

"You _flew_ here?!"

"Ran here, actually. Would love to talk more but, as you said, it's late, we should call Maggie, bye, Mom!" Alex said, running up the stairs and pulling Kara with her. Eliza and Jeremiah stared after her, rolling their eyes. Some things never changed.

* * *

"Okay. Yeah. Goodnight, babe. Love you", Maggie said, hanging up the phone. She sighed. Alex and Kara weren't going to be back tonight, meaning she was going to be alone with the baby. She wouldn't mind too much if it was just her, but she really was terrible with kids- and _not_ looking forward to explaining to Kara that she'd managed to kill her invulnerable baby cousin by putting him in the wrong sleep position or something. Sighing, she went to check on him.

At first, everything seemed fine. When she looked towards the window, however, Maggie almost screamed. There was a woman hovering outside the window. She had dark hair and dark eyes, wearing a black, fitted jumpsuit. Maggie drew her gun. The woman only smiled, as if she knew something Maggie didn't, and flew away.

By morning, Maggie was convinced she'd dreamed the whole thing.

 **Extra long second chapter! Will try to post a chapter or at least a bonus chapter as soon as possible. As always. thank you, love you guys!**


	14. Bonus Chapter 3!

"We understand. Thank you very much for your help, Dr. Brown", Alex said, hanging up the phone. She turned to Maggie and Kara, who was sitting at the kitchen table, a completed paper in front of her. Alex was shocked.

"That was the principal for your new school. He says that all they need is your medical forms, which we'll get from the DEO, and your placement test, which I just gave you... how are you already finished?"

Kara looked confused. "A two year old could do this. There's not even any calculus or trigonometry."

Alex snatched the paper from Kara, reviewing what she'd written. Though Alex didn't have a calculator, all of Kara's answers looked correct. She passed it to Maggie, who checked them using a program on her phone. Sure enough, Kara had gotten every single one of the 100 questions right, in less than two minutes, without showing any work. Alex turned to Maggie.

"Shut off the recorder", she said. They were legally required to record Kara taking the test. Maggie shut it off, taking the tape out. "I'll destroy it", she said.

"What? Are they wrong?" Kara asked. Alex sat down with her.

"Kara, how did you do those problems!"

"Easy, I used the Trombian method. Why, did I get them wrong?"

Alex looked away, shaking her head. "No. No, Kara, that's the thing. You got every single one of them right, even the trick questions. Kara, on Earth the average adult couldn't even do this, especially not in two minutes!"

Kara didn't understand. "On Krypton, we taught infants that stuff. Kal-El would already be learning it if we had stayed. Of course, he would probably also be fluent in at least common Kryptonian by now, and maybe a few other languages..."

Alex shook her head. "But we aren't on Krypton, Kara. This is Earth, and here, your incredible intelligence is dangerous. You need to take the test again, Kara. But this time, you need to get at least five or six wrong, and show your work."

"But I can't show the Trombian method! It uses math terms that don't exist on Earth!"

Alex didn't even want to try to wrap her head around that. "Well, you're going to have to figure it some other way to do it. Or, if you can't, skip the question. Same for the science and English and history tests- if you don't know, skip it, if you do, pretend you're unsure."

Kara nodded. "Okay. Okay. I'll do it."

"Wonderful", Alex said, "Besides that, there's just a few more things to do. The DEO provided fake medical forms- though you should go in for an actual exam in a month, when the ban on testing you ends- don't worry, I'm a doctor, I'll give it to you. And we need to figure out what to do with Kal-El. And... and I think we should cut your hair."

Kara stared, her eyes wide, something like betrayal shining in them. "Why?"

"Look, Kara, we need you to blend in. While someone just looking at your hair probably wouldn't immediately think 'alien', combined with other things they may come to that conclusion. You need to be inconspicuous, Kara, you can't give them any reason to think you're anything other than a foster kid who just arrived here. Please... do you think you can do that?"

Kara stared, her eyes dead. "Yes."

Alex smiled. "Great. Would you like to go to a salon, or do you want Maggie or me to cut it?"

"Can you cut it, please? Right now?"

"Right now? I don't know, Kara..."

"The longer we wait, the more scared I get. Please, just cut it."

Alex sighed, going to grab the scissors. She passed by Maggie, who was in their room, setting the tape on fire.

"I'm going to cut her hair", Alex said, "It's too suspicious."

Maggie gasped. "Alex, didn't she ever tell you? On Krypton, cutting hair was the mark of the end of childhood!"

Alex swore. _That's_ why Kara hadn't wanted to do it! "No, she did not tell me that."

"Alex, I agree, we have to cut it. It's... it's just..."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know. See you, Mags."

Alex returned to the kitchen and stood behind Kara. "Let's hope your hair isn't invulnerable."

It wasn't. Kara cried silently as three feet of blonde hair fell to the ground.

* * *

"Mother! Mother!" A four-year-old Kara Zor-El yelled, running through her home. Her mother wasn't there, but her Aunt Astra was- good enough for Kara. "I want you to cut my hair!"

Astra laughed. This was a common request for small children on Krypton who felt they'd already grown up. "And why would you want that, Little One?"

"I'm not Little One anymore, I'm all grown up! Today, at school, my teacher said I was the most mature four-years-old girl he ever saw!"

Astra laughed at the little girl's grammar. "Did he, now?"

"Uh-huh! I finished my calculus even before Titania did, and she's the super smartest one in the class!"

"Well then, Ms. Kara, I think you're ready to be all grown up."

"Yes, Aunt Astra, I am!"

"Perfect! I've been needing someone to go into work for me. Do you think you can go in for me tomorrow? Someone needs to log the Environmental Bureau's budget. And, of course, you'll need your own house... Argo City is filling up fast, perhaps you'll have to live in the edge of Old Krypton... come on, let's pack your bags!"

Kara stared at her aunt, wide eyed. "Aunt Astra?" She asked, her voice small, "I don't think I want to cut my hair anymore."

Astra laughed, picking Kara up. "Of course you don't, Little One. No one does, not really. Come on, let's wait up for your mother."

Kara held her aunt tight as they walked into the front hall, her dark-haired, dark-eyed aunt.

 **Hi, guys! I know I just posted last night, and this is kinda long for a bonus chapter, but I hope you guys are okay with that. Hopefully I can post again soon, but I'm not sure. I'll post as often as I can so, in the event of something impairing my writing ability, you guys will have as much of the story as possible. Until then, thanks for reading, love you guys!**


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